Clamping units



Dec. 8, 1959 N. H. ANDREASEN CLAMPING UNITS Filed Oct. 4, 1956 INVENTOR. NORMAN H. ANDREASEN I I I I I:

ATTORNEYS States Patent 'fCIJAMPlNG UNITS cNormaniH. Andreasen, Evanston,"lll., a'ssignor to Clipper klndl strien lnct, Evanston, 11]., a corporation of Illinois ,ApplicationiOctober 4,-1956, Serial'No. 613,902

" 31 Claims. .(Cl. 24270) {Iihis invention relates, to. clamping units and, ;more -specifically;torclarnping unitswhieh are-particularly well sadaptedfonuse, .inholding; gas cylinders on vehicles which ousezrpropane, hutane,,.and; the-like, for fuel.

It is a primary object of my invention to afford a enovel clamping unit which is particularlywell adapted .lbli aholdingpropane, or'butane gas cylinders, and the like, {ion-vehicles using such gas for fuel.

-tGther clampingunits of the general type to which my :;novel:-; invention pertains have been heretofore known in itheziart. However, such other clamping units as have .zpbcencheretofore known have had several inherent disadeyantagessuch'as, for example, being difficult to open :,andclose;;b,eing. unreliable or inefficient in operation; complicated. in construction .and operation; being expensive.ztor manufacture; producing undesirable wear ,;;Ql'l tanksgbil g held thereby, or the like. It is an im- ;,-porta,nt objectof my invention to overcome such disadyantages in clamping units of the aforementioned type. Another. object of my invention is to afford a novel =;1 amping:; nit-which maybe'quickly and easily secured sttQaacgas cylinder or the like, and which may also be ,;quickly ;and easily released therefrom.

A furth er object of my invention is to afford a novel clamping unit of the aforementioned type which, when 5Cllf6d to such a tank, is efficient and reliable in operation .and ,will effectively hold the tank in proper position on the vehicle, or the like.

,-;Another; object ofmy invention is to afford a novel clamping: unit of. the aforementioned type wherein the .;parts ;thereof,are constituted and arranged in such a rngnner as; toefiect distribution of the clamping forces around the; tank-being .held in a novel and expeditious emam Yet another. object ofmy invention is to afford substantially straight-line pull on the parts of the clamping :--,band;holding a gas cylinder or tank.

:Another object ofmy invention is to afford a novel a;clamping-,-unit of the aforementioned type wherein the pa rts ,are constituted and arranged in a novel and exipeditious manner so as to afford a novel and effective resilient clampingof such a cylinder or tank.

-Another object ofmy invention is to afford a novel c lampi ng ,unit; of the aforementioned general type which ,;.i .mliable and;;efilcient in operation and which may be 17 dily and economically produced commercially.

@Qtherand further objects of the present invention will =be; apparent;-from the following description and claims -;:nd= a re illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, -,.by way-of; illustration, show a preferred embodiment of {the present invention and the principles thereof and what ,Lnowconsider to be the best mode in which I have conv templated applying these principles. Other embodiments .,-,of theinventionembodying the same or equivalent prin- .;cipl es, may be. used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from thepresent invention and thepurview of the appended claims.

. end section 30 having an arcuate' outwardly projecting 'flange 30a on the normally free'end thereof, Fig. 4.

ice

'2 -11: .the drawings: jFig.':1 isa side'elevationalview of a clampingunitem- :bodying the principles of, my invention, showing a gas 1 cylinder being" held thereby;

' along the line'7 7 in- Fig. 3; and

Fig. 8 is a' d etail sectional view taken substantially 1 along the line 8- -8 in Fig. 3.

To illustrate ;thepreferred embodiment of vmy invention,-a-clampingunit-20 embodying the principles of my inventionis; shown in the drawings. The clamping unit 20 embodies, in general, two clamping .devices 22. ind

portion 24b and the upper portion 240 of the clamping ring24 may be made of anysuitable materialasuchas, for example, spring steel, and the intermediateportion 24b is formed ,in theshape .of a curve preferably having a radius equal to that of the tank or gascylinder which is .to be held by the clamping unit 20. The upper portion 24c..has' a main body portion 29 which is preferably formed tothe same radius as. the intermediate portion 24b The upper-portion 240 also has av free end section 30 normally projecting in substantially astraight' line from ,theadjacent end of the main body portion 29, the

The bottom, portionv 24a of the clamping ring:24 .includesa base32 whichmay also be made of any suitable material, suchas, for example, spring steeland the main body portion .of which is preferably curved to the same inside radius as that of the intermediate portion 24b.

I The base.32 has a bifurcated end portion 34, the bifurcaand disposed between the eyes 26a and'26b, with a hinge pin 26d mounted in and extending through the eyes 26a-c, Figs. 3 and 5. The eyes 26a-c are preferably so formed on the portions 24b and 24c of the clamping ring 24 that when the portions 24b and 240 are disposed in closed position the inner faces-of the adjacent ends thereof extend along the periphery of the same circle.

The hinge 27 includes two collars. and eyes 27a and l27b with an intermediate collar or eye2'7c disposed therebetween. The end eyes 27a and 27b are integrally formed on the lower. end of the intermediate portion. 24b .of ,the clamping ring 24 and the intermediate eye 27c,;is -integrally formed on theupper end portion ofahingeplate 27d mounted on and secured to the outer face of theba'se 32 by any suitable means such as, for example, welding, Figs. 4 and 6. A hinge pin 27e is mounted in and extends through the eyes 27ac, and the eyes 27ac are so disposed relative to each other that when the intermediate portion 24b is disposed in closed position the inner face thereof is disposed substantially along the same periphery as in the inner face of the base 32. The base 32 is preferably made of heavier material than are the intermediate portion 241) and the upper portion 240.

A yoke 41, Figs. 1, 4 and 7, having two substantially parallel legs 42 and 43 disposed at one end thereof, and having a single stem or leg 44 disposed at the other end thereof, is mounted on and carried by the bifurcated end portion 34 of the lower portion 24a of the clamping ring 24. For this purpose, a substantially cylindrical shaped cross bar 46 is journalled in the bifurcations 34a and 34b of the end portions 34, Figs. 3 and 7, and has a tapped opening 46a extending transversely through substantially the longitudinal center portion thereof. The stem 44 is threaded on its outer peripheral surface and projects inwardly between the bifurcations 34a and 34b and is threadedly engaged with the threads in the cross bar 46.

A latching plate 48 is pivotally mounted on the free end portions of the legs 42 and 43 of the yoke 41, Figs. 3 and 7. The latching plate 48 embodies two oppositely disposed end legs 50 and 51, which are disposed at a normally inwardly opening oblique angle to each other. The latching plate 48 may be made of any suitable material such as, for example, sheet steel, and a sleeve 53 is disposed on the inner face 48a of the plate 48 and secured thereto by any suitable means such as, for example, welding, in transversely extending relation thereto, adjacent to and substantially parallel to the intersection of the legs 50 and 51, Figs. 3 and 7. The sleeve 53 is disposed between the free end portions of the legs 42 and 43 of the yoke 41, and a bolt 55 extends through the legs 42 and 43 and the sleeve 53 to thereby pivotally mount the latching plate 48 on the bifurcated end portion of the yoke 41. The leg 51 of the latching plate 48 is substantially L-shaped, having an elongated leg portion 51a and a shorter leg portion 51b, projecting substantially perpendicularly thereto, for a purpose which will be discussed in greater detail presently.

A substantially L-shaped mounting bracket 61 having a horizontally disposed leg 61a and an upright substantially vertically disposed leg 61b is mounted under the clamping ring 24- and affords the base thereof by which the clamping ring 24 may be mounted on a suitable supporting base such as the aforementioned base B. The upper edge portion of the leg 61b of the mounting bracket 61 is curved to fit the outer face of the base 32 of the lower portion 24a of the clamping ring 24, and is secured thereto by any suitable means such as, for example, welding. The lower leg 61:: of the mounting bracket 61 may be secured to a suitable supporting member such as the base B by suitable means such as bolts 63, Figs. 1 and 4.

A slot 65 is formed in the upright leg 61b of the mounting bracket 61, substantially centrally between the ends thereof. An elongated mounting plate 67 has one end portion secured to the lower face of the base 32 of the clamping ring 24, Figs. 4 and 8, by bolts 69 extending through the mounting plate 67 and threadedly engaged in the base 32 below the pad 36, Figs. 3 and 8. The mounting plate 67 projects forwardly through the opening 65 in the leg 61b of the mounting bracket 61 and a pin 67a projects upwardly from the free end portion of the plate 67.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, gas cylinders or gas tanks normally used on vehicles, and the like, for supplying propane or butane gas for use as fuel, such as the cylinder C shown in the drawings, normally have a sleeve S projecting forwardly therefrom which has an opening, not shown, in the periphery thereof. The pin 67:: is so disposed on the mounting plate 67 that when a cylinder such as the cylinder C is mounted in normal 41 position on the clamping device 22, the pin 67a projects upwardly through the aforementioned opening in the sleeve S to thereby afiord a centering device and holding device for the cylinder C.

The clamping device 22a embodies the same parts as the clamping device 22 except that the mounting plate 67 and the pin 67a are eliminated therefrom, and the parts of the clamping device 22a shown in the drawings are indicated by the same reference numerals as the corresponding parts of the clamping device 22.

In the operation of my novel clamping unit 20, the clamping devices 22 and 22a may be secured to a suitable base B in substantially parallel relation as shown in Fig. 1. With the yoke 41 and the latching plates 48 disposed in outwardly projecting position, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 3, and with the upper portions 24c of the intermediate portions 24b disposed in outwardly projecting or open position as shown in broken lines in Fig. 4, a. tank or gas cylinder such as the gas cylinder C may be disposed on the lower portions 24a of the clamping devices 22 and 22a, with the pin 67a projecting upwardly through the aforementioned opening, not shown, in the sleeve S on the cylinder C.

The upper portions 24c and the intermediate portions 24b of the clamping rings 24 may then be swung inwardly into the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 4 wherein they rest against the outer peripheral surface of the main body portion of the cylinder C. It will be noted that when the upper portions 240 of the clamping rings 24 are disposed in this latter position, the main body portions 29 thereof preferably are disposed in juxtaposition to the side wall of the cylinder C, and the end sections 30 of the respective rings 24 project outwardly from the cylinder C along planes which are substantially tangential to the outer surface of the cylinder C, so that the free end section of each of the end sections 30 is spaced from the cylinder C, as shown in Fig. 4. With the intermediate portions 24b of the upper portions 24c of the clamping rings 24 disposed in this latter position, the yokes 4ll may be swung upwardly from the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 4. During this upward movement of the yokes 41 the latching plates 48 therein are disposed in such position that the legs 50 thereof swing into position above the flange 30a on the upper portion 240 of the respective clamping rings 24, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 4.

Thereafter, the legs 51 of the latching plates 48 may be manually pressed upwardly and inwardly toward the cylinder C to thereby swing the legs 50 downwardly toward the position shown in Fig. 3, wherein it is disposed in outwardly spaced substantially parallel relation to a tangent of the outer surface of a cylinder C. During this latter movement of the legs 50 of the latching plates 48, the free edge portions thereof are engaged with the upwardly curved convex face of the flanges 30a and. presses downwardly and inwardly thereon to thereby move the end sections 30 of the upper portions 24c of the clamping rings 24 inwardly against the outer face of the cylinder C. The leg portion 51b of the leg 51 of each of the latching plates 48 is of such length that as the leg 51 moves upwardly and inwardly, the free edge portion of the leg portion 51b engages the outer peripheral face of the upper portion 240 and the respective clamping ring 24 after the latching plate 48 is swung past deadcenter position relative to the yoke 41. The leg portion 51b affords a spacing abutment member which is effective to hold the leg portion 51a of the leg 51 outwardly away from the upper portion 240 of the clamping ring 24 a sufiicient distance that, when it is desired to open the respective clamping ring 24, the operator may readily grasp the leg portion 51a to swing the latching plate 48 in a counterclockwise direction to thereby release the clamping ring 24 when it is disposed in the closed position shown in solid lines in Fig. 3.

1t will be seen that when the clamping ring 24 is disposed in fully closed position as shown in solid lines in Fig. 3, the yoke 41 is disposed adjacent to but in outwardly spaced relation to the outer periphery of the cylinder C. Inasmuch as the latching plate 48 has sprung the end section 30 of the upper portion 240 of the clamping ring 24 inwardly, the resiliency of the end section 30 tends to urge the latter outwardly to thereby firmly secure the latching plate 48 in latching position and to insure that the latching plate 48 will not be accidently released from its latching position.

The yoke 41 may be adjusted longitudinally of the leg 44 thereof through the cross bar 46 to thereby adjust the tension of the latching plate 48 on the flange 30a.

With this construction, firm latching engagement of the latch 43 is assured, the resilient connection between the latch plate 48 and the free end portion 30a of the upper portion 240 of each ring 24 affording a snap-action which assures proper closing of the clamping ring 24 by an operator.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have aiforded a novel clamping unit which may be quickly and easily mounted on a gas cylinder or the like, and which may be quickly and easily released therefrom.

Also it will be seen that I have afforded a novel clamping unit which is effective and eificient in operation and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A clamping unit for mounting a cylindrical tank or the like of given external radius, said clamping unit comprising an elongated articulated clamping member including at least two arcuate portions hingedly connected to each other in series to permit pivotal movement of said portions with respect to each other from an open position to an intermediate unstressed position in which said portions extend in a continuous are approximately equal in radius to said external-radius of said tank, the end of a first one of said clamping member portions at one end of said clamping member having a linear end section projecting therefrom approximately tangentially to said arc when said clamping member is in said intermediate position, and latching means mounted on the opposite end portion of said clamping member and en gageable with said end section of said first end portion to clamp said end section in a closed position in which said end section is held in an arcuate configuration of substantially the same radius as said tank in which the curvature of the remainder of said clamping member remains substantially unchanged.

2. A clamping unit as defined in claim 1 and in which said linear end section of said first end portion terminates in an outwardly projecting flange and in which said latching means comprises an outwardly curved extension of said opposite end portion, a yoke journalled in said curved extension, and a latching plate pivotally mounted on said yoke in position to engage said flange and maintain said end section in said closed position.

3. A clamping unit as defined in claim 1 in which said linear end section of said first end portion includes an outwardly projecting flange and in which said latching means comprises a substantially arcuate bifurcated end extension extending outwardly of said opposite end portion, a substantially T-shaped coupling member including an elongated shank extending between the bifurcations of said extension and a cross head mounted on one end of said shank and journalled in said arcuate extension, a yoke mounted on the opposite end of said shank, and a latching plate pivotally mounted on said yoke in position to engage said flange and maintain said end section of said first clamping member end portion in said closed position, said latching plate being movable with".

respect to said yoke to disengage said latching plate from said flange and thereby release said end section from said closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,016,353 Morgan Feb. 6, 1912 2,029,707 Dodelin Feb. 4, 1936 2,086,674 Lodin July 13, 1937 2,109,821 Dunica Mar. 1, 1938 2,353,017 Denton July 4, 1944 

